Thoughts on Creator Owned Comics

Against what might be my better judgement I’m going to wade into this creator owned thing. So I ask patience for a second. Mostly what I have to say is in reference to the following video and the proposed creator owned movement around it.



I posted these thoughts to twitter yesterday, so I beg your forgiveness for redundancy and for the choppy "sentences". I'm reposting it here with a few new thoughts in order to clear my own mind of it and for people who may be interested.

-I’ve committed a large portion of my life to the pursuit of creator owned comics, so I understand the sentiment driving the "revolution".-We absolutely need more variety in comics. But an informed, practical discussion about how to actually produce that content is is over due. -Few people are prepared for the practical demands of producing a comic, far fewer for the business required to make a living at it.

-It’s a romantic, but admirable notion to believe that with a piece of paper you can move worlds and I don't think that should be discouraged-It requires a tremendous patience, enthusiasm and self belief to endeavor to make comics. But it also requires knowledge and self awareness

-What will create and sustain growth on that side of the industry moving forward is educating future creators of the hurdles they face.-If you’re going to throw down the gauntlet, do it responsibly. Talk costs as well as the benefits. Costs like money, time and effort.-It’s a bit irresponsible to assume that future creators are aware of such costs. How many of us knew or know what we're doing?

-I believe in doing creator owned work. I believe in it as an artist with a capital A. But (unfortunately in this country) it's not an artist's right to make a living-There is an argument that an artist's rite of passage is poverty. That may be true but it shouldn’t be due to ignorance.-It’s not punk rock. There is no getting by on a few hours of rehearsal a week. It’s a life decision. It's 12 hours a day. 7 days a week.

-So my message for the aspiring creator owned comics creator? Educate yourself .-Talk to pros,retailers, and publishers. Ask them their stories and their advice. No one person has a achieved success the same way.-And lastly: don’t waste energy. Painting your plight as a war against a corporate boogey man is divisive and unnecessary. Just do good work.-Because I assure you, you aren’t as good as you think you are. No one is. Any opportunity to make comics is a learning experience.

-Ahem... also... Comics pros? The best thing you can do is lead by example. Continue to show people what's possible.

-Okay, that's two cents of my dollar on the subject. No one asked, but there you have it.

-PS- I love Eric Powell. He's a great dude & amazing creator. I appreciate him stirring the pot. Frankly he can & so he should. I'm certainly no expert on the topic. I just want to make sure that if there is an army that they're carrying more than just a flag. I personally find most of this argument and discussion reductive, but I do think it can be a positive move. Getting people to think about the issue is no small thing and in that sense I commend Eric and company for taking that step.

More soon..

One For the Angels

A warm-up ink drawing done from a screen shot of ONE FOR THE ANGELS, which is the second episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE:




Basically it's about a cartoony little street salesman who tries to cheat death. It's not a particularly stand out episode, but I liked the amoral business-like portrayal of death. It feels like that was a rather atypical thing for television of the time.



More soon...

"If you need it defined you don't have it"

I'm frankly not that happy with this drawing but people who attended Mini Con keep asking me to share it, so...



Apologies to the people I had to turn away. I have commissions outstanding and I felt that it was in poor taste to bring anything home when I have others waiting on drawings from me.

Priorities, right? What are yours?



More soon...

This is your life

It lives. 180 pages of "It lives"--



I've had a couple of proof copies for months now and the early reviews have been pretty good. That's taken a little of the edge off the anxiety, but it is still a very strange thing to see a year plus of your life bound into 180 pages and reproduced times X.

Drawing comics is a Herculean task. Nearly every comic you've ever seen on a shelf is there at the expense of large amounts of effort, time and Lord knows what else on the part of the people making it. Sometimes 20 plus hour days, weeks on end. It's not a glamourous life behind the scenes, even for the rich superstars. You still have to get up and put in the work.

In the case of monthly comics, it's a mad sprint, you run like your head's on fire for that deadline. Generally when you cross it your reward is feedback, a reason to plug ahead with confidence or indignation or feigned indifference. Doing a graphic novel is fight training. It's a pre-dawn Rocky style work out. In the darkness, every day, for months, in anticipation of a bout that won't occur for years. Your investment is going to wax and wane and there are very few people to pat you on the back or tell you that you're fucking up. In my case even less so because I'm not a big name. No one was really anticipating my work. In fact there were probably a lot of people who'd rightfully written me off. This book was my first real foray back into the world of comics after a few false starts and there was nothing to back up that I could actually finish it.

So I guess the point of this is to thank all the people who had my back. To my family, friends, peers and editors. All the people behind the scenes who I will be eternally grateful for recognizing my potential and nudging me forward when I needed it. I'm indebted to you all.

As for the work? I'm fairly happy with it. I stand behind it. There are some problems sure, some my own, some due to things beyond my control. But I also feel there are also some real moments, some genuine surprises. The lessons it taught me are invaluable.

It comes out in a few weeks. I hope you guys like it.


In other news:

I'll be a guest of the CHARLOTTE MINI CON this weekend. It's a fun little one day show that Shelton Drum puts on. This will be my third year in a row and it's always a good time. I'll likely be doing some sketches, but I'm not sure how many as I'm really slammed with work. You guys should definitely come by if you're in or around the area. I mean shit, they have Pony rides:



Hope to see you there. More soon...

ROCK-A-WELLA?

It's a shame that Norman Rockwell is kind of lumped in the "posters of Starry Night on dorm walls" category. I've been rifling through a book of his paintings for work and on the back was this photo of Rockwell posing with a cigar and a mad look on his face. So I thought it would be an interesting warm up sketch. Done quickly with office supplies. Typing paper. Ball point pen. A little white out. No pencils. Not a great drawing, but it was well needed exercise.

Somewhere Rockwell rolls in his grave.

In other news:

WOLVERINE #5 is on stands today. It features another back up by Jason Aaron and myself, with a big color assist from Rico Renzi. The issue concludes the WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL arc, our chapter providing a glimpse into how Logan ended up there.

And Rockwell rolls.

More soon..

RECOMMEND NATION

So unfortunately(?) the X-Factor piece is on hold for a bit as I've signed on for my next short Marvel gig (which is good news. Right?). This time I'll be collaborating with my buddy Cullen Bunn (The Damned, The Sixth Gun). Rico Renzi will also be back helping me tag team the colors. Chances are high this character is involved:



As you can see it's just some prep work, an attempt to nail down an approach to color and that armor tunic thing he rocks. I've always kind of loved Cap, in part because at face value he's such a seemingly nonsensical character. He really works or fails based on the sum of little considerations. That's a real challenge, but when he does work I like him as much as any superhero around. So, fingers crossed.

Speaking of Cullen, the first collection of he and Brian Hurtt's THE SIXTH GUN is now out on shelves. I did the creator bio illustrations in the back, which are really just a couple of sprinkles on a delicious cake. If you're on the fence you can read the first issue here . It's a fun little genre bender. Reminds me of a good Sunday matinee movie.

While I'm recommending things, in a similar vein is Brahm Revel's book GUERILLAS. Brahm gave me a copy at NYCC and when I finally got around to reading it I was disappointed I hadn't done so sooner. It's soldier chimps for christ sakes! That said, for a book with a concept so seemingly broad it's really handled with a refreshing subtlety. I'm looking forward to more of it.

Anyway, due to the power of magic head phones i just realized that Tupac has a lot of sad trombone in his songs. So I'm off to explore that. More soon...

Ipso X Facto 2

"Progress":



More soon...

Ipso X Facto

Rico suggested that I post my progress on this. So here it is, "progress" (click image to enlarge):



More soon...

Stars & Gutters

An in progress detail from something I'm spending way too much time messing around with:



Hopefully I can reverse orbit and pull out of this black hole spin that this one feel's like it's is in.

More soon..

Better art

If I'm sometimes a little on the nose with my influences, I have no problem with that. I tend to believe that "good" art should draw you down the rabbit hole to better art.

In that spirit, here are some things I'm currently obsessing over. You may want to open the videos up on You Tube.

Kanye West: Runaway.



JIM STERAANKOOOOOOOOO (click, click, click)



Rod Serling/The Twilight Zone.





(Stick with this. Part two is where it gets good):


More soon...

BACK TO THE FUTURE(s)

Tonight was Sketch Charlotte. My first drawing of 2011? You guessed it, Cable. (Click image to enlarge):



Inspired by in equal parts by a morbid and genuine fascination, Cory Walker, and SOLDIER X comics . (I definitely didn't give him enough pockets)

Headfirst into the future, baby. More soon...

TODAY I FLY!

I do not possess the ability to drink and draw. The drawings are always crappy, sometimes for the better and then sometimes...

(Click image to enlarge):


The last NYC Drink N Draw of 2010 goes awry. Art by myself,Traci Redmond , Andy Smackdownald, Paolo Rivera and Dan Panosian

Thanks the guys for being real sports (Get well, Paolo!). Hope everyone had a Happy New Year. More soon...

-J La